Regency
by SpiritOfPower
Summary: AU. Kurogane is 25, in a chaotic time. Nihon and Celes have been at war 10 years. Now, with King Ashura in a coma, the regent of Celes makes a bid for peace. But dark secrets hide in the eyes of the regent. AshuraXFai as backstory, hints of KuroXFai.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Spirit-san owns nothing 'cept what she made up!**

**AN: Normally I don't like AU, but I was bored, so whatever. Anyway, try to enjoy, lol. Longer AN at end of chapter. R&R. **

The marble was cool against his bare feet as he padded down the corridor. The rich silk of his garments made a quiet swishing noise as he moved. He was the only source of sound in the enormous hallway. He paid no heed to the intimidating glory of the palace's architecture: the ceiling so far above, the huge marble columns supporting it, the impressive statues which at intervals peered out with blank eyes from between the pillars. Once, long ago, he had taken all this in with the eyes of a child, and felt genuine amazement. Now, this was nothing but a daily sight; home.

Long, pale fingers brushed over the characters in the book he held. Every word became, with his touch, firmly etched upon his memory. He loved books...loved them not only for the gifts they granted him, but for the beauty of the characters, the clear darkness of the ink, the pleasant scent of old tomes pulled from shelves where they sat so impressively bearing the knowledge of those long gone.

He knew the moment he was no longer alone, but the presence was familiar and welcome, so he did not react, just kept walking and reading until he came to a stop directly before the one to whom he owed his life. His fair hair, just past waist-length when it was down, was bound with a silver ring and fell forward over one shoulder in a long tail. His master reached for the end of it, bringing it to his lips, and the light-haired wizard looked up and smiled.

"King Ashura. Good evening."

The king tilted his dark head in acknowledgment, soft eyes and a warm smile lifting the wizard's heart.

"Good evening, Fai. What are you reading?"

He turned the book around and offered it, feeling the king's fingers brush his in the exchange and smiling softly. Things had been good, lately. There hadn't been a dark spell in nearly two weeks. Though of course, the longer the good times lasted, the more likely they were to end at any moment.

"It's a spell for slowing down bleeding. I can't heal wounds...but I thought maybe I could at least keep a person alive until they could be tended to."

Ashura wrapped his fingers in the wizard's hair and for a moment Fai tensed, but he was only tugged lightly and painlessly towards his king. Lips brushed his forehead gently and kindly.

"There is no flaw in you that you must make up for, Fai. As I have so often said, you need not feel unworthy because your magic does not allow you to heal. Yet..." A warm hand settled under the mage's chin and tilted Fai's head up. "I am pleased that you are so determined to aid others. I hope you find the spell within your capabilities"

Fai smiled, and bowed briefly to brush his lips over the king's long fingers. In open places, in daylight and lamplight, these brief touches were all the affection displayed between them. In the darkness of night, there were different things, secrets hiding in shadows.

Had he known that this was the last night, perhaps Fai would not have gone to his own room with only a smiling goodnight in parting to the man whom his world centered on. Perhaps he might have gone to a different room, into an extravagant chamber where in blackness he might give a proper farewell. Yet even one with as much power as he had could not see what the next day would bring.

**...**

**...**

He hit the ground, catching his fall with his hands while he coughed, trying to regulate his breathing after the hard kicks to his stomach and chest. The grass beneath him was slick, slippery. He lifted one hand and examined it: blood. Not his, thankfully. Not his opponent's either, though. He glanced to his left and saw the source, an enemy who couldn't be more than nineteen or twenty years of age, dead in a pool of blood. His other hand closed around the hilt of Ginryu and he leapt up, just in time to drive the blade through his enemy's middle before the man could bring his blade down on him.

He wiped the blood off the blade on the grass, and, seeing that there were only a few of the enemy party left and his men were handling them efficiently, he knelt beside the dying man.

"You name, foreigner?"

The man coughed weakly, blood slipping from the corners of his mouth. Kurogane wondered, not for the first time, how these foreigners kept morale up among their ranks when blood showed up so very easily against their pale skin, hair, and clothing. The darker coloring and dress of Kurogane's people meant that a man might not even realize his comrade or commander was bleeding badly; and so would not be tempted to feel that the battle was a lost cause and flee. But these people...every drop of blood was so obvious, so contrasting.

"Raient is my name...Swordsman...may I...know the name of the one...who killed me?"

"Kurogane. You fought well."

"Thank...you..."

He closed the blonde foreigner's empty eyes before he stood and approached his regrouping men.

"Their leader?"

"Dead, sir. We attempted to heal him, but he passed on. Apologies."

"It's fine. This is a small group anyway, he probably didn't know much. What are our losses?"

"Two dead, ten wounded. Three of the wounded may not last the night."

"Keep the healer and a small group here. See to it that the enemy dead are buried properly. The wounded and healer can camp here tonight, we don't want to move the wounded before they're ready. We'll take our dead and go back to the city, let their families give them proper mourning."

"Very well, sir. We'll see to it. When the wounded are able to be moved, we'll return to the city immediately."

"Good."

He turned to survey the field. He and his thirty men had been on a scouting mission when they were attacked by roughly the same number of Valerians. This particular group of foreigners were not the best fighters, but they were stubborn, refusing to surrender whenever given the opportunity, fighting until every last one fell. He admired the trait, to a degree, though in this case it seemed more stupidity than honour. Cowardice, he despised. However, though he deemed actually fleeing to be the mark of a coward, he didn't think surrender was unacceptable if there was no chance of winning and it would keep a man alive to fight another day. This day seemed like a useless waste of young lives.

He was slightly puzzled by this attack. Normally Valerians used magic in battle, and though Nihon's people were capable of magic use as well, it was less common and less well-honed, leaving Kurogane's men usually at a disadvantage which they generally made up for in pure fighting skill. This time, however, the light-haired foreigners had not fought with anything but weapons. He approached where their commander had been laid out on the ground and studied the man. The commander was dark-haired but fair-skinned: Celesian, which made it possible that he had forbidden the use of magic among his men. Some Celesians, such as their king, Ashura, were very powerful magicians: but Celesians often did not possess magic and didn't like to be outdone by anyone, so it made sense for a magically inept Celesian to forbid his men from working with magic. Though why a man like that would be put in charge of a Valerian squad was questionable.

The men who would be returning to the capital with him were already grouped and waiting. He turned to his second-in-command, who was staying behind to oversee the group of gravediggers and the healer.

"Did you find a letter of mission anywhere?"

"Not yet, sir, but I haven't searched this yet. It's was the commander's bag."

He handed the bag to Kurogane, who shuffled through a few coins and trinkets before finding the rolled up document he was searching for. It was written twice, once in Celesian, once in Valerian; flawless writing, done by the same hand, from what he could see. Kurogane was fluent in both languages; it was a necessity of the times and his job.

_Statement of Mission:_

_Addressed to Commander Ilduos, trusted servant of His Majesty King Ashura,_

_Beginning on the first of May and continuing until the last day of the month, your squad is to sail to Nihon and enter the western forest. Do not set out with the intention of attacking, but rather of judging what amount of military force is present in the area. If, however, you encounter a patrol, it is left to your discretion whether to attack or not. Take note of weak fortifications, suitable places for camping, sources of water, etcetera. Such information may be valuable should we choose to send a larger attack force in time. You are to report to your general before sundown on the last day of the month. If you have not returned by that time, you and your squad will be counted lost and honoured as such. Best of luck to you._

_Signed, _

_High Mage Fai, by order of His Majesty King Ashura_

Hn, the mage again. He tucked the document into the saddlebag of his horse and then mounted. It was time to go home; Tomoyo-hime owed him and his men at least a few days off, and he was going to see that they got it.

**AN: I'm having trouble with the sequel to Destined Desires; it's just not coming to me for some reason. I suppose I'll hopefully get to it eventually. Anyway, for now, I'm playing around with this, though whether it'll actually become a complete story or not, I don't know. **

**Names for extra characters from Nihon will be Japanese (off some random name site or something lol), names for Celesian characters will be from a random word creator set to Greek sounding words (no particular reason), and Valerian names will be using a random word creator to make French sounding words (because even though I hate the Eng Dub, Vic's French(ish?) gives me something to use.) I haven't decided what to do for characters from Clow yet, I probably won't have any extra characters from there, lol. **


	2. Chapter 2

Kurogane's entire life had been lived in a time of chaos. From the breakdown of Valeria beginning 25 years before his birth to the death of King Fujitaka of Clow and his young son Touya's ascension to the throne earlier this year; within Kurogane's time every one of the four "Grand Countries" – Valeria, Celes, Nihon, and Clow- had been in some state of upheaval. Ten years ago, Celes had declared war on Nihon with apparently no reason. Rumour had it that King Ashura was actually an ineffective leader and had made the decision without the aid of his advisor, High Mage Fai, who had been in his native country of Valeria at the time. However, no matter the story behind the declaration of war, a decision like that could not be reversed once made; not in the mind of Celesians, anyway. Whether the king and the mage regretted the choice to go to war or not, their people would see it as a sign of weakness if they backed out. Strange people, Celesians. Most country's citizens would welcome any way out of war, but not those people.

For the most part, the "war" was really just occasional skirmishes and weak attacks. Valeria and Clow, Celes' and Nihon's respective allies, stayed out of it for the most part, seeing as how it was generally more of a petty squabble than an all-out war. However, earlier in the year, Valeria had joined the war; as they had been beset by several long, hard winters and were hoping to win Nihon's better resources, but were impeded from simply trading by the fact that their ally was at war with Nihon. Those superstitious Valerian idiots were still blaming their winters on the events that had set their country into decline fifty years ago. Apparently they'd all forgotten that they'd sometimes had winters just as bad even before they nearly ruined their country just because some princess had twins. Morons.

Kurogane liked fighting; he liked testing his skill against a strong opponent, liked being able to do something, rather than just sitting back and letting others do the dirty work. He had no hesitancy to kill, and would kill any opponent in a fair fight without remorse. However, as a whole, he did not like war. Too many innocents got mixed up in it; women and children; and weak men, who Kurogane despised for their weakness but still didn't want to see killed unfairly. He'd been happy when Tomoyo-hime reassigned him from being her personal bodyguard to being commander of a small squad. He knew Souma and the other shinobi were perfectly capable of protecting both the empress and the princess in his absence, and if his group and the other squads did their job right, there shouldn't be any enemies anywhere near the palace anyway.

Still, they'd been out for three weeks now and had lost up to five men (depending on whether the three badly wounded made it). Another seven were more mildly wounded. On a whole, his group desperately needed a break, and even Kurogane was ready for a rest, despite liking his job. His last opponent had come a little too close to actually harming or even killing him; as it was he thought he might have a cracked rib and a considerably bruised abdomen, thanks to the Valerian's use of kicks. A short vacation would be extremely welcome.

So really, the last thing he needed upon entering the throne room was to find a Valerian there. The man was seated on a cushion beside Tomoyo's seat, calm and obviously welcome. Kurogane sighed irritably. That damn Valerian mage was up to something again. Though he'd never met or even seen the man who was rumoured to be pulling the strings behind King Ashura, he'd learned that seeing a Valerian usually meant work for Kurogane, whether of the violent kind or not; and it was the mage who generally sent the Valerians. Right now, work really didn't sound appealing. His rib was shrieking in protest at the mere thought. At least this situation didn't appear to necessitate fighting.

He knelt on one knee before Tomoyo, resisting the urge to wince. He ignored the foreigner for the moment. His first duty was to report to his liege-lady.

"Kurogane, you've returned. Are you hurt? There's blood on you!"

She was fussing over him in that strange way of hers; as if the barrier of master and servant, princess and ninja, did not separate them. He'd always been rather curious about what her intentions were, these times when she pried at his armour and questioned him worriedly. Did she intend to strip him bare in front of the whole court just to ensure he wasn't bleeding to death? Princess or not, she was sometimes a flighty child still. He never let her flitter about long enough to see what her ultimate goal was. He brushed her hands away gently.

"I think I have a cracked rib, but the blood is not mine." His eyes flickered to her foreign guest, but he didn't let the Valerian's presence hinder his report. War was war. There wasn't any need to spare feelings. "We had an encounter with a Valerian scouting unit, under the command of a Celesian. We lost two men, and three more may not last the night. None of the enemy survived. We gave them a proper burial."

He saw the Valerian touch two fingers to his chest above his heart, a salute for the dead in his nation. Tomoyo had somehow gotten a bowl of warm water and a soft cloth and pulled Kurogane until he sat on a cushion opposite the blonde foreigner, and was now proceeding to wipe blood gently from his face. He felt a sting and realized he actually had a cut on his face. He didn't remember getting that.

"Kurogane, this is Alever. He's brought some important news. Alever, could you repeat your message?"

"Certainly, your highness." His voice was slightly accented, but his grasp of Nihon's language seemed very good. "I bring a message from High Mage Fai. His Majesty King Ashura has suffered an unfortunate accident and is now in a deep sleep, unlikely to awaken anytime soon. For as long as he is bedridden, the High Mage will assume his duties, as royal regent. In this function, he desires to engage in discussions with Nihon towards the goal of peace, and requests that an ambassador be sent to meet with him."

Curiosity piqued, Kurogane ignored the bandages Tomoyo was now applying to his face and another small cut on his forearm, and spoke to Alever.

"Can he do that? It sounds almost like a rebellion. Surely the king would be angered by such a decision when he awakens?"

"I cannot speak for our leaders beyond what they have told me, but it is my understanding that King Ashura has long since stipulated that in the event of his death or some serious illness, High Mage Fai is to have all the power which was the king's. If the king were to pass on, High Mage Fai is his heir; but as he is only comatose, the High Mage is now regent; still, his command is not to be questioned."

The king must trust the mage pretty excessively, to put him in that sort of position. What was to keep the mage from killing Ashura himself and taking over Celes in the name of Valeria? Dangerous trust, in Kurogane's opinion, leaving one's country in the hands of a powerful man from another country. Tomoyo seemed to finally be bored of playing nurse and had taken her seat again. The Empress, who'd been silently observing, gave her sister an amused look.

"So, Tomoyo-hime, what does all this have to do with me? I'm assuming that since you had him repeat his message, you had some reason for me to hear it?"

"Of course, Kurogane! I'm sending Subaru-kun as the ambassador. He's young, but nobody could look at those big puppy eyes and _not _be friendly; nobody sane at least."

Kurogane tried not to speak his thoughts on her reasoning, looking to the Empress for help. She spoke, finally.

"I don't think Subaru is a bad choice, Kurogane. He's sweet and diplomatic and charming. A little shy, but he'll be fine. Kamui will be there to support him should he need it. The only other thing he will need is someone to defend him, though it's unlikely he'll require it, since both Celes and Valeria have generally been forthright and upfront about their dealings, even in wartime. I don't have any reason to believe an ambassador would be unjustly attacked. But..."

Kurogane began to sigh, but stifled it when his rib protested harshly.

"But you'll be sending me along just in case, right?"

"Quite right. Is that a problem?"

He shook his head wearily. He wasn't actually bound to the Empress and would on occasion disagree with her, but it was obvious that Tomoyo was in full agreement with the plan, and he could not argue with her. Goodbye, vacation. Tomoyo petted his head condescendingly, as if he were a favoured dog. Some days, he wondered if that really was how she saw him. He found he didn't particularly care. He'd chosen to serve Tomoyo of his own free will, because he owed her. Besides, there was such a sweetness and vibrancy around her: perhaps, in some way, she reminded him of his mother, gave him a way to atone for his inability to protect the one who gave him life.

"Don't worry, Kurogane. It'll be like going on a trip for fun! After all, I don't think anyone will attack Subaru as long as there's a possibility of peace. You'll probably be treated like a prince there, since Celes always treats its guests well. It'll be a good way to recuperate after your battle!"

He shrugged and stood.

"If it's all right with you, Tomoyo-hime, I'll go and get tended to. After that, I'll be ready to leave whenever you command."

**...**

**...**

He peered out the carriage window and had to admit to himself that he was impressed. Celes and the island nation of Nihon were separated by about a mile of ocean; but because all four Grand Countries were basically built on magical essence, the climate changed sharply between them, no matter how close they were. Kurogane had never actually been in Celes before, so looking out over the icy landscape was a new and interesting experience. It was different from just snow. It was like a thin sheet of ice had been used as a substitute for grass. There were bright-coloured flowers cropping up here and there, and the contrast against the white was interesting. Some trees were evergreens, but others had pale silver leaves and bright red blossoms. They were beautiful, if odd.

They were approaching the famed Sky Castle now. Alever, who was accompanying them back to his present home in Celes, didn't seem particularly interested, having seen it many times before; but Kamui, Subaru, and Kurogane were all definitely curious. The castle of Celes was said to be kept afloat by some mysterious and powerful magic. It was reached not by the illusory stairs which lead down to the ground, but rather by an invisible magical pathway which was apparently moved once a week, its location known only to those who must travel it, such as their carriage driver. The castle was exquisite, looking as if it'd been built out of ice, floating far above the ground, highlighted by the strange and beautiful colours which seemed to constantly adorn the sky in Celes.

It was somewhat nerve-wracking, when the carriage began to go upwards, apparently on nothing but thin air. Subaru's eyes got wide and he shook slightly. His twin wrapped his arms around him and peeked out the window curiously while Subaru buried his face in Kamui's jacket, not wanting to see. Kurogane looked out the window and listened. He could hear the crunch of the wheels over a solid surface and found it reassuring. Invisible or not, magical or not, there definitely was a path beneath them.

It was quite some distance upwards, and Kurogane continued to stare down, looking across a vast landscape of ice. Celes, he decided was a very strange place...but a very beautiful one as well.

**...**

**...**

Elegant robes, belted with silver chains over almost feminine hips, swished lightly with his movement. He closed his eyes and drew in a breath, feeling the wood and string beneath his fingers, familiar and smooth. On the exhale, he let the arrow fly, then opened his eyes and smiled softly at the projectile buried deep in the center of the target.

Two Celesians in guards' uniforms approached him, stopping several feet away and bowing low. One spoke.

"You grace, Nihon's ambassador and his companions have arrived. Shall we bring them to you immediately?"

"Hmm." He walked to the target, gripped the arrow in two fingers, and though it was buried about six inches deep, it immediately slid out into his grip. "I think we'll allow them time to rest first. It is not a long journey from Nihon, but they may be tired. Also, they will likely be quite chilled by the change in climate. See to it that they're given clothing more suited to the temperature, and plenty of bedding in their rooms. They may have until this evening to rest and explore the public areas of the palace. I'll see them an hour after the evening meal."

"Very well, milord. Is there anything else?"

"How many are there in the group?"

"Three, milord, not counting Sir Alever, who has returned with them. There is the ambassador, Subaru; and his twin brother, Kamui; and the ninja Kurogane, who is rumoured to be the best fighter in Nihon and has spent much time as Princess Tomoyo's personal bodyguard."

"Ah yes, I've heard of him. Why did they send such a strong force of protection with the ambassador? Do they not trust us to act honourably during a peaceful encounter?"

"Apparently the ninja engaged in battle with Commander Ilduos some five days ago and was mildly wounded. Ilduos and his men all perished. For the ninja, I believe this is more of a rest period than an actual assignment. I do not think they expect to be attacked."

"Good. That's all for now then. You're dismissed."

They bowed again and left. Fai set his bow and quiver back in their places and left the practice room, heading to the Chamber of Water. The magical room would allow only himself, Ashura, and Chi to enter it; as dictated by the seal he'd put on it.

He moved to the side of the huge pool in the center and sat down on one of the cushions left around the edges. Chi was curled up on several pillows nearby, sleeping. He smiled slightly at the sight. She may be a manmade being, but she was just as much a person as anyone else, and so adorable it made his heart ache. That wasn't the only reason his heart ached when he saw her, however. Every time he looked at Chi, he was reminded of what his life might have been if the world had been different.

A deep loneliness engulfed him as he looked down into the pool where his king slept. In this room was everything that reminded him of just how utterly alone he was now. One person he loved was dead, in a crystal sarcophagus deep within the pool; one person was kind and sweet and yet not truly real; and another, the one who he had for so long turned to for companionship of any kind, lay sleeping beneath the water. His life had always been hard...heartbreakingly so...but never until this last week, with the beginning of Ashura's sleep, had he actually felt so painfully abandoned. He was now left with a country at war on his hands and his own insecurities eating away at him, not knowing what to do or how. He sucked in a deep breath and forced the lump in his throat down. He was now, in every way other than title, King of Celes.

Kings did not cry simply because they were alone.


End file.
